Mortgage Firm Allegedly Ransacks Florida Home

Chris Boudreau of Brooksville, Fla., says he is the unwilling recipient of a home makeover, courtesy of his mortgage company.

21st Mortgage Corporation, which says on its website that it is a Berkshire Hathaway company, allegedly hired a private firm to ransack and clean out Boudreau's home, according to WTSP 10 News. They reportedly took out his sofa, tables, television, DVD player, tapes and cabinets. They even shredded Mrs. Boudreau's wedding dress, her husband claims.

"When she saw what happened, she actually went into the dumpster trying to go through the stuff," Chris Boudreau told the news station. "She was crying her eyes out."

According to WTSP, Boudreau had fallen slightly behind on his mortgage payments, prompting the mortgage company to take independent action.

Richard Ray, 21st Mortgage Corp.'s chief financial officer, told The Huffington Post that Boundreau's story, as reported, is one-sided. "It's inconceivable," he said, "that we would hire someone to diminish the property that we have a loan against." For legal reasons, Ray would not discuss Boudreau's particular situation.

Boudreau's attorney, Tom Altman, told the local CBS affiliate that when he contacted the mortgage firm, he was told that it had the right to the actions taken because Florida is a "self-help state." However, according to Altman, Florida is not a self-help state. In fact, he says, the state has very strict foreclosure laws, which he claims 21st Mortgage violated.

The Hernando County Sheriff's office sees things differently, however. They have no interest, they told WTSP, in investigating any charges of burglary, breaking and entering, or trespassing, claiming the situation to be a civil matter.